Wildlife Camera

Previous wildlife camera conked out so we bought a new one.

Still getting the hang of it… got some pretty strange animals!

I think this is a fox, we were trying to find out what lives in the hole (below and a little right of center), we are none the wiser on that, maybe it has been eaten by a fox…

Not doing the house

 We are meant to be getting on with doing the house…

But instead we had covid and now trying to catch up with outdoors work for the animals and land… aaaaaany moment we will get to it.

Did a tiny bit of preparing for some work we will do at the end of July with an artisan - to extend one of the doors. Not the clearest picture, but the closest door on the house. This will be a large door in the dining room.

We can’t go quite as high as we were thinking as there needs to be more space for the lintel, but all good!

Home grown vegetables

Kale and courgette are the veg I can grow the best. But we do have a few other things for variety.

Sugar snaps (with bbq sausage.

Mange tout with toad in the hole.

There are some cabbage, some carrots (which may well not survive the vole), tomatoes and beans. Also some cucumber and melon tht never do well for me, but I don’t give up!

I have planted kale, but they died in the heatwave.

Extreme chicken protection needed

We have been having terrible problems with birds eating the chickens (sparrow hawks and kites) and their eggs too (crows).

They have also turned their area in to a muddy waste land. 

The plan now is to instal some cages. This will be on top of the electric fence already round the area, so they won’t need to be fox proof. 

This will have the added advantage of keeping the different breeds separate, which will make the chicks easier to sell (I went mad hatching different breeds and can’t settle on a favourite!). I’ll try to get the rest of the fenced area back to grass and then they can have some time roaming free and eating grass, hopefully without overloading and killing it…

I’ve actually sold this guy and his 3 wives because they aren’t used to living in this smaller area and although the cockerel is happy not to be attached by Lucky all the time, I think ones that grew up in a smaller area, and more used to me will be happier, so I am keeping some of their eggs to hatch more…

Lucky checking out the new accommodation… I have some worry it will blow away, maybe he does too…

There is a chance I got a bit carried away cutting some branches off the trees in the encosure to make room for the 2nd cage…  Should be doing the house instead! but poor chickens need their safe home…

Rainbow!

A break in the stupidly hot weather with a little bit of rain to clear the air

Sooo hot!! Canicule!

We are having a crazy crazy heatwave. It’s JUNE and getting on for 40°C, even here in the mountains. It has been days and it is really unpleasant! We still feel a bit weedy from the corona…

Beer, water and salty snacks - how to survive a heatwave (plus fans and not doing too much in the heat of the day)

Soft white rolls

650g bread flour

400ml milk

1.5 tsp yeast

2 tsp sugar (or honey)

50g softened butter

1tsp salt

1 large egg

Put the flour and other dry ingredients in a bowl and stir together

Stir together the wet ingredients (it’s fine if a few lumps of butter as long as they are soft) and add them to the dry.

Knead for 10 mins

Rise for 30 mins or until doubled in size

Shape the rolls (makes 10 or more or less depending on size) and leave to double in size again.

Bake at 180°C for 30 mins

Really yummy with kofka, sausage and many other things…